One important part of this blog, and in my life, is the question of housing. To me, it doesn’t make much sense to talk about the everyday shopping and cooking experiences if we neglect the big impact of housing on our lives and our planet. Building a new house, for example, can produce up to […]
Knowing where my food comes from – being a Bettertarian
Every now and again I read a post on a blog and get really excited. Last week it was this: Why I still eat meat (and call myself an environmentalist) by Jo Hegerty. The post finishes with a term I hadn’t come across before but absolutely love: being a bettertarian. Being a bettertarian is basic: rather than […]
My birth story, at home and in water
I have two children, a boy and a girl. My son was my first and my daughter is two years younger. With both my children I had positive birth experiences and I want to share them with you in the hope to encourage you. Now, in this post, I might be oversharing but I have […]
Why everyone should use a library
I have a somewhat difficult relationship to libraries because I have seen too many bad libraries in the past. Currently, I have access to an amazing library system and I want to use the opportunity and talk a bit about that. But don’t get me wrong, I know that not everything I describe here is […]
A clothing swap is shopping at your friends’ closets
I went to my first ever clothing swap last week. It was hosted at a friend’s house and we were seven ladies exchanging clothes – women’s, men’s and children’s. It was great fun and I left with a few new items. The idea behind clothing swaps is simple: bring some clothes you don’t wear anymore […]
The king of the barbecue: charcoal
Spring has arrived here in Australia. It’s getting warmer each day and with the increase in temperature, we’re also heading into the season of barbecuing again. Here in our house getting the BBQ out is not an easy job. We have a charcoal barbecue, not a gas one like most households around here. And cooking […]
Staples in my freezer
My freezer is not large but it holds some essentials for my cooking. And while preparing another chicken stock on the weekend I thought it’s time to talk about those essentials. Stocks A couple of months ago I did a workshop on pantry staples and one of the things we learned about was how […]
Homemade beverages – ginger beer
There are more and more things I discover which are easily made at home. Ginger beer is one of them. It’s relatively easy to make, requires limited equipment, and it’s ready to drink in about three days. Equipment The equipment needed to make ginger beer at home is basically a set of special bottles. […]
Second-hand appliances – never again
About three years ago we needed to buy a fridge and a washing machine. In true fashion, I went to a used white goods store and bought both of the appliances second-hand. At the time it was a matter of looking at the outside and negotiating price and delivery. Now, three years later, I regret […]
Our backyard: gardening in small spaces
Whenever I look at my backyard I get a bit discouraged. It’s tiny. I’ve never measured it but it’s barely larger than our lounge. And the space of actual dirt is even less. We’ve been trying to make use of that space as much as possible and grow a few things but I feel like […]